Results 27,081-27,100 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Yes. There were three bidders but at the time draft bids were made, two companies made draft bids and they were both of the same order of magnitude. It was not that some of the others were coming in with very different scales of bids. We then entered into the very detailed due diligence process that I described to Deputy Stanley, where we went through international benchmarks for the cost...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Obviously the Government will have to sign the contract at the end of the day. Our legal, financial and technical experts will sit down with the company that has been appointed as the preferred bidder and go through those arrangements. A lot of work will then have to be done in setting up the contracts. We will set up a governance structure to make sure we can oversee and execute every...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Does the Deputy refer to the publication of the contract? The contract will be published.

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I am absolutely free to make myself available. That is what I have said throughout this. I am happy to sit down with anyone and answer questions. Of course, this is a contract between the State and a private operator.

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I am here to convince people that this is the right approach, as I believe it is. I will go to any committee and to every highway and byway in the House to convince Deputy Murphy and others that this is the right thing to do. Of course, I only act on the permission of the Dáil. If the Dáil fails to support what is being done, that is its prerogative, as the Deputy knows. I...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I was not at the recent discussions between the parties but I know that my officials briefed the other parties and Fianna Fáil. The final price could only have been clear to the House or any party much more recently. A lot of the work has been in creating a structure through which we are committing €3 billion at one level, while providing for a number of contingencies that can...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: We considered the option of breaking this up into smaller contracts or smaller areas. That was among the alternatives that were assessed. The detailed analysis of that option has been published. It was found that a single contract that treated the country as a unit was more cost-effective and that greater economies of scale would emerge in delivering it that way. That alternative was very...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: As part of a public expenditure code there is a requirement for a Department to provide a notional figure. However, we were very clear that we needed a competitive dialogue to ascertain exactly what the figure would be. No figure was included in the NDP. As I said, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has indicated that no capital project in the NDP will be affected and that this...

National Broadband Plan: Statements (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputies. I have no problem with scrutiny from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. That is its job, just as it is the job of the Oireachtas to ask challenging questions. I do not know if they set any store by the assurances of Ministers, but I can assure Members that long before I was part of this process my officials did voluminous amounts of work to evaluate the...

Report of Joint Committee on Climate Action: Motion (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: This is an important opportunity to acknowledge the work of Deputy Hildegarde Naughton and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action. I think the whole House has recognised that this is a really important subject. It has rightly been described as the greatest challenge facing humanity. I had the benefit of being at the conference in Poland where people from the youngest student to...

Report of Joint Committee on Climate Action: Motion (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I thank all Members who spoke on the motion. This is a very important debate. There is a great deal of consensus, notwithstanding very sharp differences on some issues. I am reminded of the late Brian Lenihan, who memorably stated that the only fair tax was the one that he did not have to pay. In introducing the concept of carbon pricing, there is a danger that people will want something...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Inland Fisheries Stocks (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is the state agency responsible for the protection, management and conservation of Ireland's inland fisheries and sea angling resources. I am advised by IFI that restocking is a complex matter that is carefully considered in the context of the protection of existing wild stocks. In relation to potential restocking of salmon, there are significant genetic and...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Craoltóirí Seirbhíse Poiblí (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: De réir Alt 98 den Acht Craolacháin 2009, is craoltóir neamhspleách náisiúnta seirbhíse poiblí é RTÉ agus, ar an ábhar sin, níl aon ról agamsa mar Aire ina chuid oibríochtaí ó lá go lá. Foilsíonn RTÉ Ráitis Bhliantúla ar Ghealltanais Feidhmíochta le spriocanna a bhaineann le...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: EU Directives (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The EU Directive 2016/2102 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies requires public bodies to ensure their websites and applications are accessible to users and in particular to persons with disabilities by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Public body websites and applications that comply with the European harmonised...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Telecommunications Infrastructure (9 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 151 and 152 together. The roll-out of 5G in Ireland is a matter for private mobile network operators, operating on a commercial basis. The regulation of these service providers, to the extent permitted by law, is a statutory function of the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg in accordance with the Communications Regulation Act 2002. This role...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: European Council Meetings (14 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Coal mining was not discussed at EU Council meetings at which either I or Minister of State Canney were in attendance. Officials from my Department attended the 4th Working Group of the EU Commission's “Platform for Coal and Carbon Intensive Regions in Transition” in April this year. The main objectives of the Platform are to enable multi-stakeholder dialogue on policy...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Environmental Legislation (14 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: The sale of smoky coal is regulated under the Air Pollution Act (Marketing, Sale, Distribution and Burning of Specified Fuels Regulations 2012 (S.I. 326 of 2012), as amended. An unofficial consolidation of the Regulations is available on my Department's website at . In smaller towns and villages in rural areas, outside the Low Smoke Zones, a person or body may not market, sell or distribute...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Broadband Service Provision (14 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 392 and 404 together. The premises reference by the Deputy are both in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map, which is available on my Department's website at www.broadband.gov.ie.The AMBER areas represent the target areas for the proposed State led Intervention under the NBP. This intervention is the subject of the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Departmental Reports (14 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 393 to 397, inclusive, and 413 together. In February 2015, following a tender process, my Department appointed KPMG to provide financial, procurement, commercial and specialist advisory services in relation to the NBP across a number of workstreams. The 2015 and 2018 reports referenced by the Deputy in his questions form part of the overall advice and...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Illegal Dumping (14 May 2019)

Richard Bruton: Illegal dumping is a matter of individual responsibility and compliance with the law. While enforcement action in this area is a matter for local authorities, my Department encourages a multifaceted approach to tackling the problem, incorporating enforcement, public awareness and education. As such, it provides funding to support the activities of the waste enforcement regional lead...